Digital will be biggest concern for Comcast/NBCU

DIGITAL: Futuresource says merged companies will be less focused on home video, theatrical

By Jennifer Netherby -- Video Business, 12/10/2009

DEC. 10 | DIGITAL: The merged Comcast/NBC Universal will focus on developing new business models for delivering television content and be less concerned with content in the home video and theatrical areas, according to a report from Futuresource examining the deal.

In its Online Video Market report, Futuresource analyst Alison Casey predicts the Comcast/NBCU merger will be successful where the combined Time Warner and Time Warner Cable wasn’t because Comcast will focus on new delivery models and not synergies between broadcast and cable. Casey said that as 82% of the new Comcast’s revenue will come from television, the company is likely to be focused on new business models in this area, such as ways to protect and grow advertising revenue through ads targeted at individuals based on their interests or where they live.

That focus on TV also could mean that the company sells off theme parks and Universal Studios, which don’t completely align with the company’s TV business, though Casey said it’s still too early to predict that will be the case.

Casey said in the report that both Comcast’s TV Everywhere initiative, which will allow subscribers to stream TV content online, and video streaming site Hulu.com, partly owned by NBC, could co-exist, each using different consumer models.

“Comcast and NBC Universal have a lot in common and some very similar visions of the future,” Casey said. “The growing popularity of watching TV and movies online and the need to shake up existing models of working in the television industry are central to the focus of the new organization.”

Casey predicts the deal will be approved, though it could take up to a year.